


Not So Secret

by ethereal_enthusiast



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Cute, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23211001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ethereal_enthusiast/pseuds/ethereal_enthusiast
Summary: Merlin and Arthur think they've been subtle and discreet. They have not.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 197





	Not So Secret

Everyone knew that Merlin and Arthur were a couple, but no one really knew when it began. Gwaine says they must've been a couple before meeting him. He's convinced that's the reason Merlin didn't seem receptive to his attempts at flirting. Lancelot claims it was some time between the first time he met them and the second. If he's drunk when you ask, you'll also learn that he thinks he caused it. He thinks that Arthur was jealous of his close friendship with Merlin. Morgana will say it was during the trip to Ealdor. She believes that meeting Will caused Arthur's jealous nature to take control. Gwen believes they realized it after she kissed Merlin when he almost died from poison, but they got together after the drought and food shortage. Everyone has a different belief, but no one dares ask Merlin or Arthur.

The truth is, Arthur and Merlin don't know either. There was no denying the fact that they'd been attracted to each other since day one, but when it became official wasn't certain. Arthur began trying to seduce Merlin after he'd seen Merlin and Lancelot together, but doesn't think they actually got together until he 'proclaimed his love' by following Merlin to Ealdor. Merlin had realized he loved Arthur after Gwen kissed him, but hadn't realized they were actually together until Arthur kissed him after they saved Camelot from Kilgarrah. They'd never bothered to sort out the details because they assumed they wouldn't have to explain it to anyone anytime soon. They thought their relationship was a secret, that they were subtle enough to keep it hidden.

They were not subtle. It didn't help that most of Camelot had thought they were courting since a few weeks after Merlin became Arthur's manservant, but the suspicions were confirmed when a servant saw the two kiss after Arthur successfully defended Camelot against Cenred's armies. Of course, a couple days before, Merlin had been seen leaving the prince's chambers with a blush muttering something about 'stupid prat' and breakfast, but no one dared get their hopes up. Now, no one dared admit to the couple that their relationship wasn't exactly a secret. 

Of course, people began wishing the two would start being more discreet. First there were the awful excuses which led to many weeks of jokes from the knights about 'poetry'. It would've been fine if they'd stopped there, but it just got worse as the prince and his manservant grew more comfortable with their relationship.

Soon enough, they were whispering to each other when Merlin went to refill Arthur's goblet during feasts. This would usually result in Merlin either grinning or blushing a deep shade of pink and Arthur either laughing and grinning at Merlin or scowling as he clearly fought back a blush. The knights liked to think that these reactions gave an indication of who would be topping that evening. There were usually bets going on what reactions they would see at the next feast. Gaius and Morgana had won a lot of money in these bets until Uther joined. 

Uther took some time to adjust to the idea of Arthur courting a male servant, but when he'd accepted it, the King began dominating the bets. He also turned out to be the most devious of everyone. He became extremely invested in his son's relationship and would ask the servants and knights for daily updates. Occasionally, he would send the prince on 'private hunts' or 'patrols' with his servant. 

Of course, everyone knew these games would end eventually. The prince and his servant couldn't pretend to hide their relationship forever. When it was revealed that the secret wasn't exactly a secret, everyone was shocked. Merlin and Arthur because they had been 'so careful' and everyone else because of who revealed the truth.

It had been an easy week. No monsters or crazy sorcerers had attempted to destroy Camelot. This seems like a good thing, but it meant that Arthur was getting bored and he dealt with his boredom by teasing Merlin. A lot. It started with simple looks, but soon escalated to obvious flirting. This wasn't anything unusual until training.

As usual, Arthur had the knights line up to run through their warmup and Merlin sat down to watch while he polished a sword. When the knights seemed sufficiently exhausted, Arthur announced that they would take a break when he turned to call out to Merlin for some water, he froze. Leon was the first to notice the prince's state. Arthur's eyes had darkened with arousal and his lips were slightly parted. After taking a couple deep breaths, Arthur seemed to regain control of his voice and called out to Merlin.

When Merlin looked up from the sword to meet Arthur's eyes, he appeared to gasp and freeze as a faint blush crept into his cheeks. Leon left immediately after seeing this. 

The second to notice was Lancelot, who saw Leon leaving and turned from his conversation with Gwen to get a better look at what had caused the sudden departure. He turned just in time to catch Arthur pointing from Merlin to the ground in front of his feet. He had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. 

Gwen turned to follow his gaze and caught Arthur pointing at the ground. She shifted her gaze to a blushing Merlin as he dropped the sword he'd been polishing. 

Her eyes shifted to meet Lancelot's and she'd barely whispered, 'is he...' before Lancelot started nodding furiously. There was a moment of silence between the two before they both began laughing loudly. The sound could easily be heard from across the field, but Arthur and Merlin were too consumed in their own world to hear. 

Gwaine and Percival, however, did hear the sound and turned to see it's source. Since Arthur and Merlin stood between them and Gwen and Lancelot, they both had a clear view as Arthur drew his sword and began stroking it the same way Merlin had been stroking the sword at his feet. By now, Merlin was clearly breathing heavily and his face was nearly the same shade of red as the roses in the royal garden. At the sight, Gwaine broke into a proud grin and visibly struggled to hold back a loud cheer while Percival's blushed a shade of red that nearly rivaled that of Merlin's cheeks. 

Still completely unaware of his audience, Arthur began to sheath and unsheath his sword into it's scabbard as Merlin's blush deepened and he began to squirm slightly. Arthur increased the pace of his sword and licked his lips. He opened his mouth to say something to Merlin when they were interrupted. 

"Sire, that's enough!" All eyes turned to the voice and landed on a blushing Percival who fidgeted with the hem of his shirt while he muttered, "we know. We know you and Merlin are courting. Now could you please stop?" 

The field seemed eerily silent as he spoke and for the moments afterwards as Arthur and Merlin processed the information. After a minute or two, Arthur blushed and Merlin's eyes widened. They met each other's eyes before Merlin stood up and they both ran towards the castle.

That evening, Merlin was invited to join the royal family for dinner and officially welcomed by the King. By the next morning, everyone in Camelot had heard the story of how the relationship officially became public and ideas for a wedding were spreading faster than wildfire. Within the next week, the entire kingdom knew and within the next month surrounding kingdoms had heard. Three months later the gossip had died down a little and new rumors about the prince and his manservant were replacing the old ones. This story, however, didn't die and Percival was teased mercilessly by his fellow knights for years to come.


End file.
